Hello, my name is Artymus. I am captain of the pageboy’s in the peaBrain kingdom. BTW this is based on a fictitious story! Don’t you hate it when they tell you it’s inspired by real story? If you’ve ever read Heinlein then you know about the fictitious universe. The one that’s right next door to our supposedly real universe. If you want to know more go read The Number of the Beast.

I am the head of all the pageboy’s in the peaBrain kingdom. My most important responsibility is to make sure that all the pageboy’s get on the bus every school day and attend Ms.Minney Marcur’s class at the Royal school. It includes doing a headcount prior to boarding the bus, one after everyone is aboard the bus, and yet one more when we get off the bus. This is also done on the return home trip and one last time when we reached the Royal Castle!

We have a royal magician by the name of Merlin. Claims to be the original Berlin from the king Arthur days. All I can say is he looks old enough! BTW (by the way) I am his apprentice. He has given me a spell book to work from. However, I find it difficult to understand the words as they are all in Olden English. Then there are very powerful spells but they are in a language which I just don’t know what it is.

The picture in the upper left is of me in my pageboy captains uniform. I look pretty good,huh?

This blog entry is dedicated to my nephew Denell Pascua who proclaims he was bored and that is why he posted his answers on Facebook.I post my answers on my blog with the following caveat. Everything in this blog is a work of fiction, including my following answers.

Been Married—• YES
Been divorced—• no
Fell in love—• YES
Gone on a blind date—• YES
Skipped school –• no
Watched someone give birth—• ON TV
Watched someone die—• YES but not at moment of death
Been to Canada—• YES
Ridden in an ambulance—• TOO MANY TIMES, YES
Been to Hawaii—• YES
Been to Europe—• no
Been to Washington D.C.—• YES
Visited Florida—• YES
Visited Mexico—•Does New Mexico count?
Seen the Grand Canyon—• YES
Flown in a helicopter—YES
Flown in a plane—• YES
Been on a cruise—• YES
Served on a jury—Almost, it was filled before I got on it
Been in a movie—• no
Danced in the rain—• Always!
Been to Los Angeles—• YES
Been to New York City—• Driven through outskirts.
Been to Cuba—• flown over it
Played/Sang in a band—• YES
Sang karaoke—• YES
Laughed so much you cried—• YES, too often!
Caught a snowflake on your tongue—• YES
Had children—• no
Had a pet(s)—• YES
Been sledding on big hill—YES but only on my own jeans
Been downhill skiing—• no
Rode on a motorcycle—• YES, but someone stole it
Traveled to all 50 states—• no, never really got to Alaska but Betty did!
Jumped out of a plane—• no, nor do I wish to! Been to a drive-in movie—• YES
Rode an elephant—• maybe,I was really little, hard to remember, Do flying ones in Disneyland count?
Rode a Horse—• YES Again I was little, so it could have been a pony.
Been on TV—• YES My image in a group at Homebrew Computer Club was seen by many who know me.
Been in the newspaper—• no
Stayed in the Hospital—• YES in ER & Intensive care
Donated blood—• no Other than samples for testing
Gotten a piercing—• no
Gotten a tattoo—• no
Driven a stick shift vehicle—• YES
Been scuba diving—• no
Been srkeling—• huh? I do not know what that is, so most likely no.
Rode in the back of a police car—• YES
Got a speeding ticket—• YES
Broken a bone—• no
Gotten stitches—• YES
Traveled Alone—• YES
From your phone: Hold your finger down and select copy…
Then go into status an paste it.

I was so disappointed when I found it. Instead of talking about how to clear up your thinking it went into ALL the possible ways one could fail to do so. Personally I believe when your focus is on the way you may fail, it is hard (for me) to see how you can ever succeed.

That of course led to this blog.

But there is also the strange issues forcing me to ponder; mostly upon our immanent deaths, .If I have not mentioned it before, let me clearly state here that we are all just pinkish worms in space-time. A trail of flesh carved into four dimensions. Our tails are when we are babies. Our torso from child, to teenager,then adult. Our head is the elder portion of our wormy lives.

And that is probably why I am trying to understand how to think more clearly. So that I can accomplish all the things I would like to do before I die. Not just to simplify my life and remain financially independent. It is so I can leave a legacy for future generations of Chopoff’s to appreciate. More than just a record of who we are, where we came from and what our ancestors did to get us here.

It is a story about doing what you believe in, regardless of what the truth may be. Your interpretation may differ from mine. In any case everything in my blog is a work of fiction. It has its basis in reality (whatever that REALLY is!) and so reflects my most cherished belief. There is nothing better than a STORY based on it.

What does any of this have to do with clear thinking? I am not sure, after all I am still brain damaged. So technically nothing I am saying is clear. Because how can I think clearly with a damaged brain? Also my heart is still damaged (according to Dr. Lee my cardiologist. He did a sonogram and confirmed it.

My mama’s death is still prominent in my thoughts. But she like her Aunt Cossack did not face death. In fact Cossack screamed away her last breath in defiance. I saw this about 2 AM in the morning when I went with my mom to the hospital that she die in. My brain took a picture that seared into my brain her final scream of “NO-oh”!

It reverberating still off the antiseptic walls, ceiling and floor. Mama closed Cossack’s eyes and mumbled a prayer while I noticed Cossack is no longer with us.

We are all but pinkish worms in space-time. Some darker while others are paler, But ALL of us worms.

Facing death makes me think of all the living I still want to do. My dreams are simple. Explore the world. Go places I have not been to. Talk in languages I have not yet spoken. Learn from teachers I have yet to meet. Do it all as soon as possible. For tomorrow I will be dead. I do not or want to know when. I pray it is not for a long, long time.

But tick, tick and tick goes the clock of time. Each tick could be the last. So much still left to do. There is never enough time. There is always just what we have (remains).

My name is Bunny. I was very sad to hear that Geary’s mother Nadia had passed away. She was the one that made me the only thing I own. The (white with red polka dot) shirt on my back.

I wish I could say that the years have been kind to me. Remarkably I am still here. However so many other toys are gone. Lost along the journey from Fillmore and Eddy (there use to be an apartment house there) to our home in Milpitas.

I still remember the swell times Geary and I had. There were so many toys. I have to admit I was jealous of the bears. But I never met them. They were gone along with the poodles and other stuffed animals due to an allergy that hospitalized one of his sisters.

But soon we were in a home of our own on Thrift street. We were still in San Francisco but in a very quiet place called Ingleside. The kids were gone every weekday. Geary told me how he had to walk to catch the 36 Miraloma (a bus) which he rode to Portal station to catch a street car (in a tunnel) and got off on Church street to take the 44 Fillmore to his school.

But now I just sit quietly on a shelf watching him work. He told me it was time for me to tell my tale and I wish I had more of a tale to tell. My stuffing is now stiff and not soft and cushy as when I was young. I long for the days I was the center of attention. Now I sometimes think “What will become of me?”. Especially since master Geary is broken. He has told me that he had a brain bleed and even the last visit to his cardiologist, was told his heart is still very, very weak.

He hugged me; pressed me to his chest, but I could not feel it beating. No one makes toys like me anymore. I certainly do not want to be put on display either! Time will tell is all I can get out of Geary. That and “All’s well that ends well!”

I just watched another message from God. This time it stressed the good qualities I inherited from my mama. She introduced me to comics when I was very young. Even though I could not read them, I found the pictures fascinating. I was reminded of this by the documentary “Legends of the Batman”.. I found it on NETFLIX. Tears of joy flowed down my face. To say the least, it really inspired me.

I now clearly saw that eRigby MUST be told. That Mama’s Memories must be a book that our family and friends will love to read. That these and other stories like a children’s book about the PeaBrain Kingdom absolutely MUST be published.

I have had a remarkable recovery according to all my doctors, Nurses, caregivers and especially from my wife and caretaker Betty. The Batman that I was as a child and briefly showed himself as a teenager going to Riordan High School (across from City College in the Ingleside district of San Francisco, is back!

I still remember how mama fashioned my costume. The cape and cowl made of cotton. A grey sweater that she sewed the bat symbol on. I wish I had a picture of me in that outfit, but alas all I can provide is what’s left of that glorious memory.

I waited behind the gym doors leading into the schools basketball court. I listened for my cue. The cheerleaders were pumping up the audience. “Well Don’t You Fret! This is the year we beat Bellarmine! Here’s our secret weapon…Batman!”

I burst through the doors and was nearly blown back by the roar!. Everyone was up on their feet, stomping and yelling at the top of their lungs. It was a real adrenaline rush, one of those once in a lifetime moments. I also knew that they knew it was me under the cape and cowl. A fact that was reinforced after the rally.

The football game in Kezar stadium was also memorable. We had not beat Bellarmine in scores of year. But this night WE WON! There was a rush into the field and the goal posts came down and everyone got a splinter of the post to commemorate our triumph.

I have loved you as my wife Betty for over 35 years now. You are a most caring person and have an energy that if we could bottle and sell, would be a win-win. We would benefit from the money and the world would be a more productive place for becoming more like you!

Since my Mama Nadia’s death I find my heart more vulnerable and needing of love. Betty, you give me that. But it is not all Roses and Lollipops. We still need to work at it. All that we love and want to keep and cherish.

(For those that do not know I am suffering from congestive heart failure. Dr. Lee did a sonogram recently and confirmed that my heart is still weak and keeps urging me to consider stints and pacemakers and such. We shall see.)

Upon a soapbox I step to proclaim the following to the world:

Betty has become my caretaker as well as being my wife. She is also our Mommy Kwan’s caretaker (sometimes her brother Steven helps her). Besides being an officer of the court for over 30 years, Betty has proudly maintained her RN (registered nursing) license since before our marriage to this very day.

She is well respected by Judges, Lawyers, Doctors, Nurses, and many levels of administrators in both the medical and legal field. I keep telling her it is her brains for which I married her and she often casts that remark aside with a laugh as she has a well-endowed figure too!

This my public apology to her for the behavior of my family of which I am the head of.

You would think that after all the help she has provided the Chopoff’s that everyone would remember, be extremely grateful, and more importantly respectful of her and her wishes.

I hop off the soapbox and return to my dedication of love.

Betty you are my true love and soul mate. In my heart I know we have been together before this life, were very lucky to find each other in this life, and will work to do so again in the next life. Whatever it takes to make our love for each other last forever!

My name is Nadia and the year is 1948. My face is a mask, ugly. It has been this way a very long time. I pray to God everyday and cry a lot.

Along comes 1949, I got pregnant. We were in a refuge camp on Tubabao Island. Nine months later my first son was born. He would be born with a little shirt.

That day I had a hard labor. I went to the bathroom, but we had the bathroom outside. I yelled, “God! A lot of water came out!”

The lady across the way came over (she’s my friend but I forgot her name).

“Oh my goodness! You’re going to have a baby! Did the baby come out?” she asked.

I said, “No!”

So we went to the hospital. That was about 2 PM. The midwife came in (I did not have a doctor) and examined me and said “Oh that’s OK. You still have plenty of time.

I was suffering with pain, walking, I had to walk around.

In the meantime the father went fishing. He was back home about 6 PM they told him Nadia went to the hospital.

Ivan rushed over. “Is the baby born?”

“Not yet!” I grunted between waves of pain.

He seemed a bit relieved but then he panicked and in a loud voice proclaimed, “I don’t want our son to be born before midnight!”.

Well thanks a lot! Our son dutifully waited until 14 minutes after midnight to be born. He was born with a shirt (an extra layer of skin). So the midwife got a pair of scissor, cut in front and took the shirt off and give it to me.

The lady in the room next to me said, “You’re very lucky. Your son was born in Tiger year and also with a shirt! Your son is will be lucky all his life.”

Then she asked, “Can you give me that shirt?”

“Oh No! I have to keep that shirt for my son.”

I put the shirt under my pillow and fell asleep. When I woke up in the morning the shirt was gone. She must have stolen it.

Must have been when I fell asleep she took it. I was very upset. She must have took it (that little shirt)! I did not know here name and when they told me she had left I was even more upset. Because I wanted that little shirt to keep because it’s very rare when someone is born in a shirt.

My name is Nadia. In 1948 my sister Lydia came home and said “Ross is back and he’s looking for you!”

So I said to Ivan, who was living with us at that time, “Well, here it is! You know you don’t want to get married, which is fine, but my boyfriend is here and that was the agreement; that I would go with him when he comes”.

So Ivan went to his sister’s place to talk and came back and he says to me “OK. Let’s go!”

I said, “Let’s go where?”

He says, “Let’s go get married!” he laughed then added, “But not at the church. At the attorney.”

Well I thought about it and said “Well that’s just fine” because I am already in love with Ivan.

I told my sister “Don’t you tell him (Ross) where I’m at”! So later on I heard he (Ross) was with a Chinese woman.

But Ivan and I finally got married.

And after that came a lot of ships to Shanghai. You want to go to Australia? You want to go to Russia? You want to go to South America? That’s fine. They were there for those wishing to escape the war in China.

My stupid husband got himself a passport. Actually just a little paper from Soviet Union. He wanted to go to Russia!

“I ain’t going! I’m going to United States!” and IRO came in (International Relief Organization) and we registered with IRO and we’re going to Philippines Islands

So finally we got the papers to go to Philippines Islands.

As we are going to Philippines Island in 1948 we went on a ship and as we pass the border of China. I forgot what was that name. That was at night time so we went to sleep.

I got up in the morning and I looked in the mirror and said “Oh My God! What Happened?” I have a brown mustache, my eye brown and then another eye brown. I looked like a freak. I got all upset because I was very pretty and here is my mask. So I went to the doctors and he said you must be pregnant. It was 1948.

I said, “No! I am not pregnant.”

To which doctor replied, “Well don’t worry! The way it came, that’s how it’s going to go”.

Play Prodigal Daughter by Pearl and the Beard while reading this to understand my mood. Do not listen to the words and just listen. It is calming. I feel peaceful and hopeful. Prodigal, where is home? My dear heart.

I’ve continuously been explaining since my brain bleed that I am now brain damaged. I cannot fix it but I am hoping that by explaining it people will show me some consideration and allow me to finish my thoughts.

Fortunately I can hide that in my blog. I can edit it until it makes sense to me. So you dear reader just need to believe me when I say carrying on a normal conversation is much more difficult.

My brother and I are writing checks to cover the unpaid costs due to Crosby N Gray Funeral Co. That will bury my sisters obligation made when she unwittingly signed a contract (story for another blog) and Betty will deliver our check in hopes of avoiding a horrible lawsuit.

My father complained of scientists. How ironic that I have become one. Computer science encompasses it all. We also have a belief that we are living in a computer simulation. Admittedly it is a more complicated picture than God, Heaven and Hell. Perhaps his father, my grandfather Ivan who was a priest or deacon in the Russian Orthodox church curses me for being such a sinner and non-believer.

However I like to think he has become much more open minded and forgiving now that they are all in heaven. For me heaven is more like that image presented in Defending Your Life